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Whirlpool moving portion of production to Ohio plant

Whirlpool is moving production of its commercial front-load washing machines from Mexico to
Ohio.

The appliance maker, whose brands include Maytag, Kenmore and its namesake, said yesterday that
80 to 100 jobs will be created in Ohio over the next three years to support the relocation. The
company’s Clyde, Ohio, plant covers 2.4 million square feet, which Whirlpool says is the largest
washing-machine plant in the world.

Whirlpool said that the move is part of its efforts to build products in the regions where they
are mostly sold. It does not expect any interruption in the supply of commercial washers during the
transition.

WASHINGTON

Loan company to pay $98M in discrimination case

Ally Financial Inc. is paying $98 million to resolve U.S. government allegations that minority
borrowers were charged higher rates on the company’s auto loans than whites with similar credit
histories.

The agreement announced yesterday by the Justice Department and the Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau is the government’s biggest auto-loan discrimination settlement.

Ally is paying $80 million in damages to about 235,000 African-American, Latino and Asian and
Pacific Islander borrowers, and $18 million in penalties. The higher rates were charged on auto
loans between April 2011 and this month, the government said.

MENLO PARK, Calif.

Zuckerberg to gain $2.3B in next Facebook stock offering

Facebook has priced a secondary offering of its stock at $55.05 a share in a deal that will
generate a $2.3 billion windfall for CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

The terms announced yesterday are just slightly below the $55.12 closing price of Facebook’s
stock yesterday. The stock has climbed well above the $38 price set in Facebook’s initial public
offering 19 months ago.

This time, around 70 million Facebook shares are being sold.

Of those, Zuckerberg is selling more than 41 million shares, primarily to cover the taxes he has
to pay as a result of exercising his option to buy 60 million Facebook shares that carry more
voting power. He will remain Facebook’s controlling stockholder after the sale.

LAS VEGAS

Casino company hacked; patrons’ credit cards at risk

A Las Vegas company that owns casinos in Nevada, Colorado, Iowa and Missouri fell victim to a
cyberattack this year, compromising the credit- and debit-card information of patrons at 11 sites,
company officials said yesterday.

Affinity Gaming officials said its system is now secure, but it recommended that customers who
visited its casinos and hotels between March 14 and Oct. 16 check their card statements for
suspicious activity and put a fraud alert on their accounts.

“Affinity regrets any inconvenience this incident may cause and has established a confidential,
toll-free inquiry line to assist its customers,” the company said yesterday.

The company was notified on Oct. 24 about fraudulent charges that might have been linked to an
Affinity casino in Iowa. Affinity said it began an investigation that determined the system used
throughout the chain was infected by malware.

WASHINGTON

Multibillion-dollar mergers OK’d for TV station groups

The Federal Communications Commission has approved two multibillion-dollar mergers involving the
consolidation of major TV station groups.

In rulings released yesterday, the FCC allowed Tribune Co. to buy 16 stations from Local TV
Holdings while allowing three other stations to go to Dreamcatcher Broadcasting.

Tribune originally sought

19 stations for $2.7 billion, but Dreamcatcher will run three of the stations under an operating
agreement with Tribune. The FCC denied that the agreements amounted to full control.

The FCC also approved Gannett Co. Inc.’s $1.5 billion purchase of Belo Corp. and its

20 stations. Gannett agreed with the Justice Department to cut all ties with one of the
stations, KMOV-TV in St. Louis. Five other stations will be operated by Sander Media in a separate
operating agreement.